The CuisiNerd

Previous incarnations of this were made with Kikkoman’s prefab teriyaki sauce. This one is made from a homemade sauce.

Sauce:

1 cup shoyu or tamari soy sauce
4 or 5 cloves of garlic (or 2 Tbsp garlic paste)
2 tbsp. ginger or ginger paste
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. Mirin (rice wine) or dry sherry
drained syrup from a can of mandarin oranges
1 Tbsp oil

Mix well and add 2 lbs chopped chicken breasts, and marinate for approximately an hour.

In the last 15 minutes or so, reconstitute 1.5 to 2 cups of dried shiitake mushrooms by putting them in 1.5 cups boiling water. (you can also used sliced button mushrooms)

Drain and reserve marinade from chicken pieces and saute in a large skillet with 2 Tbsp oil until cooked. Drain the liquid from the mushrooms and add to the marinade. Add the mushrooms to the chicken. While you’re doing this, cook a pound of noodles (farfalle or rotini work well, although any noodle will do).

When the chicken is done, remove from the pan, leaving remaining liquid behind. Add reserved marinade and bring to a boil – reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Mix:

1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 c water

and add it to the mixture, stirring until thick. Once thickened, set aside the sauce and add some more oil to the pan, and toss in the cooked chicken and diced bell peppers (preferably of mixed colors). Saute until the chicken starts to brown (about 5 minutes). Add the noodles and toss until well mixed, and then add the sauce, toss, and serve. Makes great leftovers and is tasty with Sriracha “rooster” sauce.

This is a recipe with good whipuptitude. The object of the game was to use up as many ingredients as I could from the fridge.

Boil a pot of noodles. I used egg noodles, but any noodle will do, and penne would probably be ideal.

While the noodles are cooking, sauté the rest of the ingredients in a pan with some olive oil. Tonight’s ingredients were:

From the CSA:
Sliced zucchini and summer squash
Sliced onions
Julienned carrots

From the fridge:
Chopped garlic
Cooked chicken breast

From the garden:
Oregano

Salt to taste and toss with the noodles along with the cup of pesto left over from the other night.

Other things that would be good in this:
Peppers
Sun-dried tomatoes (or toss in some fresh ones without cooking them)

Total prep and cook time was around 15 minutes.